Rep. Brad Sherman probably doesn’t mind that he has gone from competing in Southern California’s most-watched congressional race in 2012 to one of the region’s most easily overlooked contests this year.

Sherman’s re-election last time was bruising financially — and almost literally. Forced to face fellow Democratic Rep. Howard Berman because of redistricting and California’s new top-two primary system, Sherman lost his cool at one debate, seeming to challenge his San Fernando Valley rival to a fight. In the end Sherman won by a surprisingly big margin, ending Berman’s 40-year legislative career.

As he seeks a 10th term in Congress, Sherman’s opponent Nov. 4 is Republican Mark Reed, a two-time loser in previous bids for office.

Reed, who finished a distant third in the 2012 primary, improved to second on June 3 and beat out more moderate Republican Pablo Kleinman. But with 20 percent of the primary vote, Reed is a longshot to beat Sherman, who got 58 percent.

So the 30th District race will occur in the shadows of two headline-making neighboring districts — the 26th, where Democratic incumbent Julia Brownley had only a 1 percentage point edge over Republican Assemblyman Jeff Gorell in the primary, and the 33rd, where Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu and Republican prosecutor Elan Carr battle to succeed Henry Waxman.

Not that Reed might not make it interesting, in his own way, for those who pay attention.

A small businessman and sometimes actor, Reed, 57, campaigns as if firing up Republican voters would be enough to win, ignoring the fact Democrats hold a 25 percentage point edge in registration in the district. The first three issues listed on Reed’s website are the economy (he’d lower taxes), health care (he says Obamacare will “raise taxes, increase government spending and lower the quality of care”) and gun ownership (“If you do not like guns do not buy one”).

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Around here, Reed is remembered for his interview with the editorial board in 2012. He brought a chill to the room by lecturing board members that the Daily News should seize the “opportunity” to endorse him and disprove “the perception of most readers (that) this is a biased, liberal magazine.”

Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, has his own quirks. He’s big on repeating his own old jokes (Sherman Oaks is “America’s best-named city”), and famous for his concern about artificial intelligence (see his 2006 interview with Steven Colbert). And his website’s photos of Sherman interacting with regular folks often look like something out of a write-your-own-caption contest (see the photo above).

And Sherman is the Southern California congressman most likely to put his opponent in a headlock.

Not that Reed figures to get close enough to have to worry about that.

Click here to see Reed’s campaign website. Click here to see Sherman’s.